“Sir?” Nylund called over comms again.

“What?” Tobias finally crackled in response, gunfire now audible through the communicator that had been echoing in the distance.

“There’s no antidote, sir,” Nylund broke the news. “The spores are a delivery method, so air filtration will prevent infection. Otherwise, there’s been some success surgically removing fetal stage specimens, but as long as the… black goo remains in the system, it will just begin creating a new one.”

Tobias didn’t respond.

“Fire is very effective; the spores are highly flammable,” Nylund added. “And they struggle in high UV conditions. Sir?”

“I hear you,” Tobias sighed. “Download whatever you can and then extract.”

There was a screech over the comms, and gunfire started up again.

“Rendezvous with Andrews and Vaser. We’ve lost three to unfrozen specimens and are quickly losing ground. Just get all the info you can and get the hell out of there,” Tobias repeated. “If we’re not back in an hour, blow it.”

“Y-Yes, Sir,” Nylund replied. “Will do, sir… and… good luck.”

“Nicole?” Tobias added.

“Yes, Lord Barrick?” Nicole answered, seeming puzzled.

“If I don’t make it back, you keep these people alive,” Tobias said.

“Of course,” Nicole replied flatly.

We all held our breaths for a moment, waiting to see if anything else would be said. Finally, Nylund snapped into action, getting to work on something on the tablet.

“Nicole, we need to get you a repair pod,” I reminded, time now so very much of the essence. “Nicole,” I hissed.

She shook her head. “We are in no condition to continue deeper into this place.”

“No. Nicole, no,” I shook my head vehemently. “We’re so close. The next door is literally open.”

“What is going on?” Nylund asked distractedly.

“Where are the repair pods?” I snapped in a tone that surprised myself. Tobias’s tone. “For Matthew.”

“Hold on, you heard Lord Barrick,” the other officer piped up, adjusting his sling. “We have our orders, and I’m not sticking around to get mauled by those monsters.”

“Elsy,” Nicole smiled softly. “There’s no time.”

I stared at her. Was this always how it was going to go? Had the repair pod been just a dream? Why had we even come then? This was all a waste. I wasn’t sure I would ever stop trembling from all of this, but I wasn’t going to go back empty-handed.

“Lord Barrick also entrusted the survival of the colony to Nicole,” I yelled. “Something she won’t be able to do unless she has a repair pod. She’s your doctor. How many lives has she already saved? The command centre is just a little further. Please, can we please just check?”

No one said anything for the longest moment of my life.

“The download is going to take at least 10 minutes,” Nylund finally said. “Just be quick, or we’ll have to leave you behind.”

None of them were coming.

I had to try, even if no one else did. I ran down the catwalk and towards the command centre. Stumbling through the weird little hall archway.

“Elsy!” Nicole called, hurrying after me. She caught my wrist.

I fought, trying to pull my wrist away. “Nicole,” I hissed. “We need to try, please, we just need to try. I can’t lose you.”

Nicole looked at me, searching my face for something. “10 minutes,” she begrudgingly agreed. “After that, I will drag you out myself.”

“And a repair pod,” I added determinedly.

We hurried off towards the command centre. All the doors were open.

That was… I didn’t know. Maybe Nylund had unlocked everything from the central intelligence brain. This would have been a disaster without her computer skills.

Stepping through a doorway, we entered a large room. Screens lit up the far wall, the largest depicting us as we stumbled inside, looking around wildly.

There were repair pods. Along the side of this place, full of panels and walkways, there were five repair pods. Shit.

The door thunked closed behind us.

“Thank you for splitting up,” Matthew said, turning around from where he stood looking at the screens.

“I am surprised you chose to simply come all the way here,” another Matthew said, spinning in circles in an officer chair.

“As you can see, we do have repair pods,” a third Matthew said, gesturing at the wall. “Which Nicole-013 is free to use here at her leisure."

“Fuck,” I muttered.

“What are the chances I can borrow a spare?” Nicole asked, resting her hand on my lower back.

“None,” Matthew shook his head. “My orders are to destroy trespassers.”

“It won’t matter,” I interrupted, voice trembling. “This whole place is gonna blow. You’re dead no matter what.”

“Yes, I am working on that,” the Matthew spinning in the swivel chair called. “This whole place is outfitted with state-of-the-art surveillance; we are aware of your schemes.”

You had to be fucking kidding me.

“Shoot them,” Nicole said simply, raising her pistol. More deafening sounds filled the space, chunks were blown out of the first Matthew's head before he had a chance to cover his face.

The Matthew in the chair leapt for cover. So I focused on the third scrambling away. I pointed and clicked. Bullets clanged into metal with each shot, but not a single one hit him.

But the first Matthew was still standing, though now looked horrifying.

“M-Mos-t un-plea-sant,” he muttered, his voice a wavering, garbled mess.

“Nicole,” I hissed, handing my gun to her carefully.

She snatched it and put enough rounds into his head for him to finally fall to the ground.

“I really wish you would stop doing that,” one of the other Matthew’s called. “This does not have to be so violent.”

“Open the door, we’ll leave,” Nicole called. “That’s what you want, right?”

“Apologies, but the company is quite interested in your positronic brain. I cannot let your friend leave without risking your escape. Thus, you must be apprehended, and she killed,” Matthew responded, standing up from behind one of the consoles.

“Nicole, what do we do?” I trembled, holding onto her jacket for any sense of security.

Nicole’s response was more gunfire. Matthew covered his face, bullets thinking into the plastic meat of his arm. “You have what? Five shots left?” He asked. “You cannot possibly destroy two Matthew-076s with that.”

“Elsy, move!” Nicole snapped, shoving me unexpectedly.

I hit the floor, winded as the second Matthew crashed into Nicole, taking her to the ground.

I scrambled back, struggling to suck in air. There was nothing I could do. No weapons, now claws. Matthew was stronger, more durable; Nicole wouldn’t win against him.

What could I do? What the fuck could I even do?

I had been so fucking stupid to get us into this mess. We should have just left. It was just one stupid mistake after another, dragging Nicole after me to try to clean up my messes.

I had to do something, anything. I stumbled to my feet, searching for anything I could use to attack. The other Matthew grabbed me, his arm flayed and striking silver beneath the artificial flesh. He was strong, so fucking strong, I felt a bone snap and pain flooded through me.

“Nicole,” I managed, my vision spinning as Matthew effortlessly began to drag me. It was all I could do to stay on my feet.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

The Matthew dragging me’s head jerked forward with each shot; his grip on me loosened as he stumbled.

Nicole had managed to fire her gun from under her assailant.

“Yes!” I yelled, shoving the android over.

There was a horrid treating sound as the remaining Matthew pulled Nicole’s arm off. White lubricant bubbled forth as wires snapped and metal wrenched. He tossed it aside and picked her up.

“Nicole!” I screamed.

She was attempting to pry Matthew off her by pushing his head away, but he reeled back and punched her in the abdomen. I let out a shuddering gasp, stumbling forward to do something. Matthew pulled his hand free, full of wires. Nicole’s legs went limp.

Tears rolled down my cheeks, and my wrists hung loosely in its skin. I picked up Nicole’s severed arm and stumbled over, smacking Matthew in the back of the head. It was futile, I knew it was futile, but I wanted Nicole to know I had tried. I was just useless. A fatal flaw.

Matthew spun around and kicked. My knee bent inward with a horrid snapping sound. White-hot pain flared through me as I crumbled to the ground.

“Nicole,” I whispered through clenched teeth as he carried her off towards the far wall. He tossed her into one of the repair pods and hit a few buttons; the pod closed, trapping her inside. Nicole pressed her hand to the glass, smearing white as she pushed.

“Matthew, stop. Stop, will you?” She pleaded.

He turned around and began to march towards me. I scrambled back, with only one working arm and leg between me. Kicking myself, propelling myself backwards until I hit the guard rail. I glanced down.

There was a large pit behind me. The simple guard rail was the only barrier between me and the bubbling black sludge below. I didn’t want to know what that was.

“Matthew!” Nicole yelled. “What will it take? Just leave her be.”

“I’m sorry, Nicole-076. I know you are fond of her,” Matthew replied simply, “but orders are orders.

He grabbed me by the hair. I cried, trying to kick as he swung the gate open.

“Please, please, don’t, please,” I begged, my voice a snotty, shrill mess. “Please.”

“There's no need to beg,” Matthew said gently. “It will be paintless, such a concentration will cause rapid cell death within fractions of a second. You’ll hardly feel a thing.”

I let out a sob, interspersed with the sound of Nicole banging on the glass.

“I’m sorry,” I told her, barely able to even see her as Matthew hauled me forward. “I’m so sorry.”

“I forgive you,” Nicole smiled somberly. “Just close your eyes, my love, close your eyes and think of the cabin.”

With a shudder, I did as I was told.

Matthew flung me forward, and then I was falling.